Device and method for filling trays

ABSTRACT

This involves a device ( 1 ) and a method for the semi-automatic filling with sand ( 2 ) and water ( 3 ) of containers ( 5 ) for packaging bloodworms. The device comprises a removable drawer ( 6 ) for retaining at least one row ( 4 ) of said containers ( 5 ) placed side by side, a tank ( 7 ) for storing dry sand, reservoirs ( 15, 16 ) for retaining determined doses of sand, means ( 11, 12 ) for moving the reservoirs between a position for filling a reservoir by gravity from the storage tank and a position for emptying a reservoir for the discharge of a dose of sand by gravity directly into a corresponding container, a tank ( 18 ) for retaining water, and water-supply means ( 25 ) arranged to supply each container with a determined quantity of water.

The present invention relates to a device for the semi-automatic filling with sand and water of containers for packaging bloodworms.

It also relates to a method for filling such containers.

The invention finds a particularly important, although not exclusive, application in the field of storage of American worms, called “bloodworms”, originating from the North American continent, for example for their importation into Europe by air. Such bloodworms are used as live bait for leisure fishing at sea.

Already known are storage systems for live bloodworms allowing them to be transported by air. Such systems consist in large cardboard boxes containing a newspaper bottom covered with a bed of fresh and damp seaweed, allowing the transport of the order of one hundred to one hundred and thirty live worms per box. Usually, a coolant is inserted into the box when it is filled in order to maintain a certain coolness during transport which lasts approximately sixty hours before reaching the point of sale in a fishing store.

Such a system has drawbacks. Specifically, the merchandise cannot be resold as is to the fishermen because a box of a hundred worms is too large a unit for retail sale.

It is therefore necessary to insert into the process a sorting operation, with counting, of the worms before they are repackaged in smaller quantities. In particular, the retailer will have to divide the content by extracting the worms from the seaweed of the boxes, one by one, before transferring them into small receptacles previously furnished with an added medium.

This medium is usually formed by a small quantity of washed seaweed originating from the initial box. A layer of damp sand is sometimes also used, but poses a problem of dosing, the number of worms per box then varying from five to ten, depending upon requirements.

Such systems are time-consuming. Retailers have little time to dedicate to sorting because they are primarily absorbed by their sales activity at the counter. This work is also tricky and requires dexterity. It is dirty work, which requires frequent washing of the hands of the vendors which must be clean and dry in order to properly use the keypad of the cash register or of the computer and/or for handling the change.

Note here that the retailer has only a few opportunities to do such work before or after opening his store, the latter opening early and closing late, for the needs of his business with leisure fishermen.

Such sorting requires surface areas or worktops that often do not exist in a fishing store. This time wasted on packaging makes the clients wait if the store is full and has a material cost since in addition to the initial storage boxes provided for transport, it is necessary to provide a second set of smaller boxes for sale, a cost which falls to the retailer.

Moreover, the latter does not have control of the cost of the worms per se. Specifically it is he who takes on most of the risk associated with the unhappy surprises when sorting the worms into small quantities because of the presence of worms that are dead, unsuitable for sale because they are too small or even fewer in number than planned (bad counting at the outset, which may or may not be intentional).

Such a discount is currently of the order of 10 to 15%. The result of this is disputes with the wholesaler because of this bulk sale and/or of the added costs on the box if the wholesaler takes responsibility for this repackaging which is currently practically only carried out at the retailer's premises.

The object of the present invention is to alleviate these drawbacks. For this purpose it starts with an entirely novel idea in the context of storing live sea worms for this type of air transport, namely to provide itemized storage in small boxes or containers at the source, that is to say virtually at the moment of picking them up with an average cost per worm that is lower than or equal to the current cost, while guaranteeing worms of superior quality.

The reason for this is that the latter are subjected to better conservation because they will arrive fresher, with less handling and better sorted, packaged in a substrate originating from their natural surroundings (sand), with a reliable number of worms per box, which limits or prevents losses for the retailers.

The latter also avoid the tiresome and stressful work of sorting on site to the detriment of their customers.

Such packaging at the source however always had to be avoided until today because it involved a considerable extra price for the wholesaler and ultimately the retailer because of the upstream prepackaging at the gatherer's premises.

Moreover, such packaging in a small box excluded a medium of the damp sand type (which is preferable for the worms) because of the considerable added weight (doubled weight) which is a disadvantage for air transport.

The object of the present invention is to provide a device and a semi-automatic packaging method that better satisfies the requirements of the practice than the prior art, particularly in that it makes it possible to keep the labor costs at the source at a level equal to or below the labor cost required for the packaging of the prior art, for an equal number of worms prepared, while improving quality.

Such a result is obtained thanks to a device that will make it possible to count and box worms at the gatherer's premises and not at those of the fishmongers.

The invention makes possible in particular a considerable saving in time and weight thanks to a mechanization of the operation of inserting sand and water used as a medium, which therefore allows excellent metering of the quantities of sand and water inserted.

Specifically, note that the gatherers already count the worms a first time as part of the old method, in quantities of one hundred and twenty-five worms which they then place in a tray. Giving them the means, by virtue of the invention, to count them in fives or tens and place them in empty containers open for this purpose and placed for example in a tray that can be loaded and unloaded in a block therefore does not generate any additional labor cost.

Such trays are then easily stacked, allowing easy movement, stacking and storage.

With the device and the method according to the invention, such an operation becomes possible.

Similarly, the use of the device according to the invention, which allows dosing of sand and seawater in a semi-automatic and perfectly calibrated manner, makes it possible to optimize the quantities used in an astonishing way.

Therefore, and unlike the previously conceived idea, a small dose of sand in the containers has been found to be sufficient as is a small dose of seawater.

This was possible and detectable only from the moment when a device like that of the invention allowed rapid filling in large quantities.

For this purpose, the present invention essentially proposes a device for the semi-automatic filling with sand and water of containers for packaging bloodworms, characterized in that it comprises a removable drawer for retaining at least one row of said containers placed side by side, a tank for storing dry sand, reservoirs for retaining determined doses of sand, means for moving the reservoirs between a position for filling a reservoir by gravity from the storage tank and a position for emptying a reservoir for the discharge of a dose of sand by gravity directly into a corresponding container, a tank for retaining water, and water-supply means arranged to supply each container with a determined quantity of water.

In advantageous embodiments, use is also made of one and/or other of the following arrangements:

-   -   the removable drawer comprises at least two parallel rows of         containers of at least four containers each;     -   the sand-storage tank is situated above the retention reservoirs         and comprises gravity-flow orifices placed in vertical line with         the reservoirs in the filling position;     -   the retention reservoirs are formed by recesses made in at least         two parallel horizontal bars, for example made of plastic,         secured to movement means;     -   the retention reservoirs are placed in pairs on one and the same         bar and are arranged so that one of the reservoirs of each pair         is filled with sand by gravity while the other reservoir is         emptied by gravity simultaneously;     -   the water-supply means comprise a constant-level reservoir, and         receptacles for metering identical quantities of water suitable         for being filled from the constant-level reservoir in a first         position and for being emptied into the containers of the         removable drawer in a second position;     -   each metering receptacle is formed by a tube open at its ends,         one end of which is curved upward and arranged to submerge below         the level of the constant-level reservoir in the first position         so that said tube is filled with the determined quantity of         water in its submerged portion by the principle of connecting         vessels, and the other end, situated above the level in the         first position, is substantially straight and arranged to allow         the gravity flow of said determined quantity of water into the         boxes in said second position;     -   the device comprises manual means for actuating the metering         receptacles by simple translational movement between first and         second positions;     -   the manual actuation means are secured to a link rod that can be         actuated by placing the removable drawer beneath the dry sand         storage tank;     -   the device comprises intermediate means for a flow between the         metering receptacles and the containers situated in the         removable retention drawer;     -   the device comprises spring-based automatic ejection means of         the removable drawer;     -   since the containers are designed to receive of the order of         five worms, the sand-retention reservoirs have a capacity of         between 25 g and 40 g of sand and advantageously 30 to 32 g; in         another embodiment, the quantities of sand may be double this         quantity, for example 50 to 80 g, for example 64 g;     -   the means for supplying the containers with water for determined         quantities comprise metering receptacles with a filling volume         of between 5 and 15 ml of water, and advantageously 7 to 10 ml;         in another embodiment, the quantities of water may be from 16 to         20 g.

Advantageously, it has been observed curiously that the worms survive well for proportions between sand and water of 25 to 30%, that is to say 25 to 30 parts by weight of water for 100 parts by weight of sand, which is allowed by the device according to the embodiment of the invention most particularly described.

The invention also proposes a method for semi-automatic filling of containers with sand and water using the device described above.

The invention also proposes a method for semi-automatic filling of blood-worm-packaging containers with sand and water, characterized in that the user fills a removable drawer for retaining at least one row of said containers placed side by side, said drawer is placed beneath reservoirs for retaining determined doses of sand supplied from a dry sand storage tank, each container is supplied with a determined quantity of water and said reservoirs are moved between a position for filling reservoirs by gravity with a dose of sand from said storage tank and a position of discharging the sand by gravity directly into a corresponding container.

Advantageously, since the retention reservoirs are placed in pairs on one and the same bar, the user fills one of the reservoirs of each pair with sand by gravity while the other reservoir of said pair is emptied by gravity simultaneously.

In one advantageous embodiment, since the water is supplied from receptacles for metering identical quantities of water, each receptacle is simultaneously filled from a constant-level reservoir in a first position and they are simultaneously emptied into the containers of the removable drawer in a second position.

Equally advantageously, the containers of the removable drawer are filled with water in one action at the same time as the removable drawer is put in place in the device.

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description of an embodiment given below as a nonlimiting example. It refers to the drawings that accompany it in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in section of an embodiment of the device according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view in perspective from above of the dry sand-storage tank of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view in perspective of the bars of sand reservoirs and their movement means.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are respectively side and top views of a bar of FIG. 3.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show in perspective from above the operation of filling and emptying a reservoir with a bar of FIGS. 4A and 4B.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show, in the filling position and in the emptying position, the metering receptacles of the device of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 8 and 9 give respectively a front view in perspective and a rear view in perspective of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 shows in section a device 1 for filling with dry sand 2 and with water 3 a row 4 of identical, substantially parallelepipedal, open containers 5.

It comprises a removable drawer 6 for retaining four rows of five containers placed side by side, with a slight clearance between them, for example 1 to 2 mm, in order to allow both a position of immobilization in the drawer according to substantially determined dimensions and a flexibility of grasping the containers making it possible to remove them from the drawer by disengaging them easily.

The drawer 6 is for example a plastic tray of determined dimension that is interchangeable, which subsequently makes it possible to keep it for storage and transport purposes.

The device 1 comprises a parallelepipedal tank 7, for example of 40 kg of dry sand in volume, that can be removed to allow it to be cleaned. It is furnished (cf. FIG. 2) with orifices 8 for the gravity flow (arrow 9) of the sand.

It also comprises (cf. FIG. 3) a set of five parallel bars 10, that can move between two positions, secured to one another via a perpendicular rod 11. The containers are actuated manually at the same time in the horizontal plane by means of an actuation handle 12, advantageously attached to the central bar.

In the embodiment most particularly described here, each bar comprises two sets 13 and 14 of two identical reservoirs 15 and 16 for the temporary retention and dosing of the dry sand.

Each reservoir is formed by a parallelepipedal orifice passing right through the bars and arranged in a corresponding part 17.

The handle 12 forms with the rod 11 the means for moving the reservoirs, which will be explained in detail below with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B, between the position for filling a reservoir by gravity from the tank 2 and the position for emptying the reservoir in order to discharge a dose of sand of determined volume, by gravity, into a container 5 situated below.

The device 1 also comprises a tank 18 for retaining seawater 3 furnished with a drainage circuit 19 and a drain pump 20 known per se, arranged to supply a parallelepipedal constant-level tank 21 with water, by virtue of an overflow 22, formed by a plastic cylindrical tube of adjustable height (arrow 23), for example by means of an adjusting screw 24.

The device 1 comprises water-supply means 25 arranged to supply each container with a determined quantity of water which comprises in particular said constant-level tank 21 and metering receptacles 26 suitable for being filled from the constant-level reservoir 21 in a first position 27 and for being emptied in a second position 28 in an intermediate gravity-flow circuit 29.

The circuit 29 can be separated from the constant-level tank and comprises as many flow pipes 30 as there are containers to be supplied. It is attached to the frame 31 for supporting the sand tank 7 and for receiving the removable drawer 6.

In the embodiment most particularly described here, the device 1 comprises means 32 for manually actuating the metering receptacles 26 by translational movement due to placing the removable drawer 6 beneath the sand tank in the locked position 33.

To do this, the means 32 comprise a horizontal rod or link rod 34 furnished with an end 35 abutting on the drawer 6, arranged to be pushed toward the bottom of the receptacle 36 of said drawer.

The rod 34 is articulated at its other end 40 on a rod 41 for rotatably actuating the metering elements 26, which will be described more precisely with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

A return spring R allows all the means 32 to move backward, in the position 27 for filling the metering receptacles 26. In the rest of the description the same reference numbers will be used to designate the same elements.

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective from above of the bars 10 and FIGS. 4A and 4B are side and top views of a bar.

Each bar 10 is formed by three parallelepipedal polyethylene solid blocks, namely two end blocks 43, 44 and a central block 45, and by two identical intermediate parts 48 defining via vertical intermediate walls 49 the two central reservoirs 15, 16 of determined volume, for example corresponding to 32 g of dry sand, and two small outer chambers 50 allowing the discharge of excess sand on the sides.

The bars are made of polyethylene and slide sideways on three stainless steel, square-section beams (not shown). The first and the last beam have for example on their upper side a guide spigot in the form of a BTR screw head screwed onto these beams on which the bar slides, said bar comprising grooves underneath for this purpose.

A polyethylene horizontal part 51 having a support surface 52 pierced by two pairs 53 of rectangular holes 54 opening onto two channels leading away slantwise in a symmetrical manner to the bars underneath.

The holes 54 are separated by a stainless steel part 55 with a rectangular or square surface of determined length, the outer ridges 56 of which, parallel with the bars, are tangential, edge to edge, with said bars.

Each bar is guided between two guide beams 57, a space e of the order of 1 mm being arranged between bar and beam in order to prevent friction.

A small scraper (not shown), that can be removed in the event of wear, is provided to clear away the sand that has escaped in the sliding in the overflows 50.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show an enlarged view in perspective from above indicating the operation of the reservoirs for retaining a dose of sand.

In FIG. 5A, the reservoir 15 is in the position for filling from the top, the reservoir 16 being emptied into the hole 54.

It can be seen that, if there has been an overflow of sand in the outer chamber 50, it is emptied into the hole 53.

In FIG. 5B, the bar 10 is drawn to the left in a sharp movement and the sand (not shown) travels from the reservoir 15 in the hole 53 to the container situated below. The reservoir 16, for its part, is moved into the filling position above the stainless steel part 55.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show more precisely the water-supply means 25, in perspective from above. These means comprise the constant-level tank 21 maintained by virtue of the overflow 22 and the metering receptacles 26.

The latter are formed by curved pipettes, consisting of tubes 60, for example of 1 cm diameter, open at their ends, namely one end 61 curved upward and arranged to plunge beneath the constant-level reservoir in the first position 27 so that said tube is filled (cf. FIG. 1) with the determined quantity of water 62 in its submerged portion, by the principle of communicating vessels, and the other end 63 situated above the constant level, substantially upright.

The end 63 is, for its part, arranged to allow the gravity flow of the determined quantity of water in the second position, into a corresponding orifice 64, connected by gravity via the intermediate circuit 29 to the ends 65 (FIG. 1) of the small pipes 30 for the flow to supply the containers.

The movement of the tubes 60 is a movement of rotation about a shaft 66 actuated by the link rod 42 secured to the tube on one side and fixed on the other side to the rod 41 about a shaft 67, for example in a recess 68 arranged at the end 69 of the rod 41.

A description will now be given of the operation of the device according to the embodiment of the invention most particularly described here by making reference to the figures, particularly to FIG. 1.

At the beginning, the bars are sunk toward the water tank, return springs 70 (cf. FIG. 3), attached on either side to the rod 11, returning the bars to the storage position so that the holes 8 of the sand tank are situated opposite the metering reservoirs 15, then situated above corresponding stainless steel parts 55, allowing the blocking of the sand in the reservoir preventing it from falling downward (cf. FIG. 1).

The sand tank 7 is then filled with dry sand 2.

Since no drawer 6 is in the device, the return spring R pulls on the end 37 of the connecting rod 38, which moves its other end 40 away to the outside of the tank, pulling back the rod 41 fixed to the link rod 42 brought backward so as to tip the metering receptacles 26 into the filling position 27 (cf. FIG. 6).

After the drawer has been filled with the corresponding number of containers, in this instance and here for example twenty containers (4×5), the drawer 6 is inserted into its housing 71 which causes the rod 34 to be pushed.

This actuates the connecting rod 38 which pushes the link rod 42.

The link rod 42 tips the metering receptacles or pipettes 26 into the top position 28. This causes water to be tipped into the circuit 29 via the orifices 64 in order to run into the corresponding containers.

A stop 72 for retaining the drawer 6 is provided at the entrance of its housing 71, lifting the drawer over this stop causing its automatic ejection under the effect of the return spring R which pulls the rod 34.

Once the water has been poured into each container, the bars are actuated manually by means of the handle 12.

In the initial position (cf. FIG. 1 and FIG. 5A), the sand, blocked above the part 55, cannot flow out.

By pulling sharply on the handle 12, the reservoir 15 (or the chamber for retaining the dry sand that has flowed therein by gravity from the hole 8 situated in line) is placed opposite the opening 53 and the corresponding dose of sand falls into the container.

Simultaneously, the reservoir 16 is in its turn placed beneath the hole 8 and is filled with sand then being closed off in the bottom portion by the stainless steel part 55.

When the tension on the handle 12 is relaxed, the bars, actuated simultaneously, return to the initial position by the action of the lateral return springs 70. It is then the turn of the reservoir 16 to be emptied into the adjacent container, while the reservoir 15 again fills simultaneously and becomes ready for another operation.

In this manner, by simple snap fitting of the tray 6 then the virtually instantaneous back-and-forth movement of the handle 12, the water and the sand metered in determined quantities are injected by gravity into all the containers.

As goes without saying and as results from the foregoing, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment most particularly described. On the contrary, it covers all the variants and in particular those in which the doses of water are injected differently, or else those in which each element is designed as being able to be separated from the others, the device being easy to dismantle for maintenance and repair. 

1. A device (1) for the semi-automatic filling with sand (2) and water (3) of containers (5) for packaging bloodworms, characterized in that it comprises a removable drawer (6) for retaining at least one row (4) of said containers (5) placed side by side, a tank (7) for storing dry sand, reservoirs (15, 16) for retaining determined doses of sand, means (11, 12) for moving the reservoirs between a position for filling a reservoir by gravity from the storage tank and a position for emptying a reservoir for the discharge of a dose of sand by gravity directly into a corresponding container, a tank (18) for retaining water, and water-supply means (25) arranged to supply each container with a determined quantity of water.
 2. The device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the removable drawer (6) comprises at least two parallel rows (4) of containers (5) of at least four containers each.
 3. The device as claimed in either one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sand-storage tank (7) is situated above the retention reservoirs (15, 16) and comprises gravity-flow orifices (8) placed in vertical line with the reservoirs in the filling position.
 4. The device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the retention reservoirs (15, 16) are formed by recesses made in at least two parallel horizontal bars (10) made of plastic secured to movement means.
 5. The device as claimed in claim 4, dependent on claim 2, characterized in that the retention reservoirs (15, 16) are placed in pairs on one and the same bar and are arranged so that one of the reservoirs of each pair is filled with sand by gravity while the other reservoir is emptied by gravity simultaneously.
 6. The device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the water-supply means (25) comprise a constant-level reservoir (21), and receptacles (26) for metering identical quantities of water suitable for being filled from the constant-level reservoir in a first position and for being emptied into the containers (5) of the removable drawer in a second position.
 7. The device as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that each metering receptacle (26) is formed by a tube (60) open at its ends, one end (61) of which is curved upward and arranged to submerge below the level of the constant-level reservoir in the first position so that said tube is filled with the determined quantity of water (62) in its submerged portion by the principle of connecting vessels, and the other end (63), situated above the level in the first position, is substantially straight and arranged to allow the gravity flow of said determined quantity of water into the boxes in said second position.
 8. The device as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that it comprises manual means for actuating the metering receptacles by simple translational movement between first and second positions.
 9. The device as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the manual actuation means (32) are secured to a link rod (34) that can be actuated by placing the removable drawer (6) beneath the dry sand storage tank.
 10. The device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises intermediate means (29) for a flow between the metering receptacles and the containers situated in the removable retention drawer.
 11. The device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises spring-based automatic ejection means (70) of the removable drawer.
 12. The device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, since the containers (5) are designed to receive of the order of five worms, the sand-retention reservoirs have a capacity of between 25 g and 40 g of sand.
 13. The device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the means (25) for supplying the containers with water for determined quantities comprise metering receptacles with a filling volume of between 5 and 15 ml of water.
 14. A method for semi-automatic filling of blood-worm-packaging containers (5) with sand and water, characterized in that the user fills a removable drawer (6) for retaining at least one row (4) of said containers (5) placed side by side, said drawer is placed beneath reservoirs (15, 16) for retaining determined doses of sand supplied from a dry sand storage tank (7), each container is supplied with a determined quantity of water and said reservoirs are moved between a position for filling reservoirs by gravity with a dose of sand from said storage tank and a position of discharging the sand by gravity directly into a corresponding container.
 15. The method as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that, since the retention reservoirs are placed in pairs on one and the same bar, the user fills one of the reservoirs of each pair with sand by gravity while the other reservoir of said pair is emptied by gravity simultaneously.
 16. The method as claimed in either one of claims 14 and 15, characterized in that, since the water is supplied from receptacles (26) for metering identical quantities of water, each receptacle is simultaneously filled from a constant-level reservoir in a first position and they are simultaneously emptied into the containers of the removable drawer in a second position.
 17. The method as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that the containers (5) of the removable drawer (6) are filled with water in one action at the same time as the removable drawer is put in place. 